This invention concerns devices for improving the comfort of a person occupying a seat, particularly suited for upholstered seats.
Seat cooling arrangements have been developed involving air ducting or large plenum cavities carved out within the seat back foam cushion forming the support structure of the seat back (or bottom). This requires considerable labor and compromises the physical integrity of the seat cushion structure. This also makes retrofitting of seats with the cooling device difficult. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,059,018; 6,179,706; 6,505,996; 5,385,382; and 3,550,523 for examples of such installations.
Air from the vehicle air conditioning is usually relied on to create seat cooling. The internal ducting is necessary in order to insure a distributed flow of air over most of the area of the seat cushion.
A heating pad or element is required if the capability rapid warming of the seat in cold weather is desired.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device enabling circulation of air within an automotive seat without the need for removal of substantial portions of the back or bottom seat cushion structure.
It is a further object to provide a device which enables both heating and cooling of a vehicle seat back and/or bottom which is simple and low cost, and can be integrated into a seat without any major modification of the seat cushions.